An Important Reminder

Have Faith

I blogged Have Faith on this day August 11, 2024. I needed this reminder this morning. It is so easy to get discouraged when our thoughts turn dark.

I continue to read Caribbean. I finally passed through the section The Buccaneer which was a sad commentary on human nature, and gave a very detailed account of the brutality that mankind will participate in their quest for power and money. I am now in the section titled The Sugar Interest, and it is a much easier read. I still have more than half the book to finish (325 out of 859), though I am making progress slowly. It is important to understand our world and why it works the way that it does even when this knowledge can be discouraging. I will continue to make my way through the book, however, breaks are definitely necessary for me and my family. Reading this book has reminded me of a book by Tim Kreider that I read many years ago. It was titled We Learn Nothing. Humans do seem to repeatedly make the same mistakes.

Lastly, I think it is so important for me and for others to have faith that good things can fight evil things. Have Faith will be my motto for today and other days when the going gets tough.

This picture was taken by me long ago at The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America in Washington D.C’s Brookland neighborhood.

Goat Ears and a Moon Rock

Goat Ears

Keeping with the theme from my last post, A Look Back and a Look Ahead, I am re-blogging a post from this day, August 8th a few years back. I laugh every time I see these pictures of the goats and their moving ears! My look ahead for the day is a moon rock of sorts; I am preparing for the next full moon. I have been having fun with round ice molds, edible luster dust, and a trip to the Virginia ABC store.

The low ball/rocks glass I picked up long long ago at a thrift store. I bought 8 of them. I cannot remember how much I paid for them, however, they had to be very inexpensive for me to buy them at the time. The only reason I bought them is because my elementary school mascot was the Roadrunner, and back them I had some occasions to use the glasses. I found one suitable to use for my moon rock cocktail experiment. I used two small bottles of HYPNOTIQ because one would not cover the round ice rock. I played around with the edible luster dust. (It comes in six colors.) I used silver and gold. I named the drink a roadrunner babe. 🙂

A Look Back and a Look Ahead

Oh Happy Day!

The post you see above with a new baby robin still in its nest is from August 8th 2023, though I believe the picture was taken before that date. Anyways, WordPress shows me throwback editions when I open my home page and there exists posts from the same day on previous years. I can decide it re-blog it or not. The title is so positive and the picture is so cute that I decided to re-post it.

Currently I am still reading Caribbean by James A. Michener. I am about 20% through the book. It is thick, and I do enjoy it, though, I am often distracted by others, so the going is slow. I am learning a lot of history about this part of the world. This book is a library loaner. I have recently purchased two more of his books that are not available through our library system.

I also purchased and received today an interesting book which I hope to share with others. It is a book for anyone, though the target audience is younger readers since it is a graphic novel. Graphic novels are so popular with the middle school students that I know. The book is The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds.

https://garethhinds.com/

Since a movie has been recently released by the same title and based on the same original story, I was interested in getting my hands on a book that would be easier to read than Homer’s epic poem. I have linked the website for the author/illustrator that takes many classics and adapts the story in a graphic novel for younger students.

Have a Happy Day!

An Early Sunday Reflection (on a Thursday)

My last post was a somber post in many ways. The comic strip created by the image generator somewhat reminded me of a death and a rebirth, and I was reminded of a Bible Verse that was read at both my grandmother DeVall’s and her sister, Bess Irwin’s funeral and memorial. I thank God for the website, Find a Grave. I knew both my grandmother and her sister were buried in Branson, Missouri, because I attended both funerals. I was able to find images of the cemetery markers for both of them located at Branson City Cemetery, Branson, Taney County, Missouri, USA. My grandmother died in 1976 when I was still in high school. She had lived with us for several years before her death so I was much more upset, tearful, and in the moment at her funeral, so I clearly remember this Bible verse from her funeral. My great-aunt Bess died in 1981. The same Bible verse was read. They were buried close to each other.

The Bible words that have stuck in my head for all these years are: “Yea, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.”

Whether dreams, death or illness, these words still comfort me today.

I found this lovely tribute to my grandmother Myrtle Irwin DeVall at this website. My grandmother did have a daughter named Betty Lee that died when my mother, June, was 6 months old. Even though my mother did not remember her, she had pictures of her. I also have a book that I inherited that was originally given to Betty Lee in 1930 (Treasure Island Copyright, 1924)

My First Post Still Standing

Four-panel comic showing stages of sleep and waking involving a man in pajamas.
A comic strip illustrates a man’s transition from sleep to wakefulness through dreams and sleepwalking.

https://movingforwardslowly.com/2015/09/20/am-i-awake-sleepwalking-or-dreaming-who-is-in-charge/

This post I just linked is from the year 2015. The original post did not have a picture. This comic strip was added today, though it is not a comic in the Ha,Ha sense. I had some other posts before this one, however, I deleted several from the year 2015. I decided to revisit this post today because oddly I did wake from a very strange dream this morning, and it was a relief to me that it was just a dream.

The image and caption above are both generated images in the comic book style. Though some of my dreams during this period of time were downright terrifying or very confusing. I don’t know why the image generator made the character a man. I decided to keep it this way because it puts more distance between me and my past dreams.

Monster Okra

The smallest okra is 5.5 inches and the largest is 7.25. I think I waited too long to pick them. More are developing, and hopefully I will pick them before they get too big. I read that if you don’t pick them between 2-4 inches you risk them being too tough. If I pickle them this might be a problem, though if I cut them up for a stew I think they will be okay. You live and you learn. 🙂

I decided to cut them up and saute them with some minced tomato. This is an easy way to cook okra. You can see what the inside looks like if you are unfamiliar with okra.

I added a picture from today (8/4/2026). The biggest ones were a little tough compared to the smaller ones. I went out today and picked two more before they got too big. I remember eating them fried and added to soups from my university cafeteria days. The smaller ones were delicious and the bigger ones did not taste bad they were just too stringy for my tastes. I relate this to spinach because I love baby spinach but when it gets bigger I do not like it as much. It all depends on how you cook it. I will grow it again next year, and the season is still ongoing for more experimenting.

Birding as a Hobby and a Profession

This picture of a Great Blue Heron was taken by me at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia many years ago. Recently in the news was their annual pony swim which was held last week, July 29th.

Last night I finished reading the book The Origin of Ava written by Annie Lampman. One of the main characters in this book was Dr. Avanthe Estmund, PhD, Professor of Ornithology (study of birds.) She loved all birds and many of the birds she mentions live in Ecuador which was a country where some parts of the book took place. She was originally from Idaho and grew up around the North Fork of the Clearwater River on the Nez Perce- Clearwater National Forest. She was particularly close to a Raven named Persephone. I will not tell you more since I think you should read this book. It follows three main characters that overcome overwhelming obstacles in their lives. It clearly demonstrates “the redemptive power of nature, time, and chosen family.” It is a book of fiction.

I chose to use the picture of the Great Blue Heron in this post because I wanted to honor all birds. This bird was not mentioned in the book.

I only have two weeks left before I go back to school. There is time to read another book or two. I looked up all the books written by James A. Michener and chose my next book to read. I have placed it on hold at my local library. I should pick it up early this week. It might take me all of the two weeks to read it with everything else in my life that I will still need to do, though it is much shorter than his first book I read.

This book was published the year I was married. Plus I was born on an island in the Caribbean sea.

James A. Michener is so detailed in his writing that I just might learn about some birds that live in the Caribbean. If not, I am sure I will learn some new things. He mixes lot of facts into his fiction.